Lesson 23 — Activity 2: Changing Currencies
Completion requirements
Lesson 23 — Activity 2: Changing Currencies
Getting Ready
In this activity, you will learn about converting currencies, from Canadian to foreign currencies and back to Canadian funds.
Think about This:
Currencies are traded around the clock, 24 hours per day. Therefore, conversion rates for currencies change all the time.
Courtesy of Pexels
Look at the currency conversion chart below.
Courtesy of ADLC
The chart above was for January 27, 2016. This is how conversions to and from Canadian dollars were calculated on that day. Remember that every day the conversion rates change.
In this activity, we will be using the column with the title "1 CAD." 1 CAD means how much one Canadian dollar is worth in each type of currency.
To calculate how much you will receive in a foreign currency, you can use the following formula:
number of Canadian dollars x rate = amount of foreign currency received
For example, let's say you have $500 to exchange and want to know how many American dollars you would get.
$500 x 0.707998 = $353.999 US
Note: It is very important to put the type of currency behind the conversion, for example: $455.54 US.
You would get $353.999 US if you exchanged $500 Canadian. In this case, because the American dollar is worth more than the Canadian dollar, the number of American dollars you receive is less than the number of Canadian dollars you put in.
What about if you wanted to exchange 500 Canadian dollars for Mexican pesos?
$500 x 13.1138 = Mexican pesos
You would get 6,557 Mexican pesos.
The chart above was for January 27, 2016. This is how conversions to and from Canadian dollars were calculated on that day. Remember that every day the conversion rates change.
In this activity, we will be using the column with the title "1 CAD." 1 CAD means how much one Canadian dollar is worth in each type of currency.
To calculate how much you will receive in a foreign currency, you can use the following formula:
number of Canadian dollars x rate = amount of foreign currency received
For example, let's say you have $500 to exchange and want to know how many American dollars you would get.
$500 x 0.707998 = $353.999 US
Note: It is very important to put the type of currency behind the conversion, for example: $455.54 US.
You would get $353.999 US if you exchanged $500 Canadian. In this case, because the American dollar is worth more than the Canadian dollar, the number of American dollars you receive is less than the number of Canadian dollars you put in.
$500 x 0.707998 = $353.999 US
Note: It is very important to put the type of currency behind the conversion, for example: $455.54 US.
You would get $353.999 US if you exchanged $500 Canadian. In this case, because the American dollar is worth more than the Canadian dollar, the number of American dollars you receive is less than the number of Canadian dollars you put in.
What about if you wanted to exchange 500 Canadian dollars for Mexican pesos?
$500 x 13.1138 = Mexican pesos
You would get 6,557 Mexican pesos.
$500 x 13.1138 = Mexican pesos
You would get 6,557 Mexican pesos.
Self-check!
Try This!
Try this activity to practice converting Canadian dollars into foreign currencies. Click here to print out the currency conversion chart to use for this self-check.
Convert $400 Canadian into each of the following currencies:
Thai Baht
400 x 25.4094 = 10 163.76 Thai Baht
400 x 25.4094 = 10 163.76 Thai Baht
Indian Rupees
400 x 48.3020 = 19 320.80 Indian Rupees
400 x 48.3020 = 19 320.80 Indian Rupees
Euros
400 x 0.649919 = 259.97 Euros
400 x 0.649919 = 259.97 Euros
Swiss Francs
400 x 0.719459 = 287.78 Swiss Francs
400 x 0.719459 = 287.78 Swiss Francs
Look once again at the currency conversion chart.
Courtesy of ADLC
This time you will be using the column with the title "In CAD." In CAD means how much one piece of foreign currency is worth in Canadian dollars.
To calculate how many Canadian dollars you would get, you can use the following formula:
amount of foreign currency x rate = number of Canadian dollars received
For example, let's say you have $300 US to exchange and want to know how many Canadian dollars you would get.
$300 x 1.41243 = $423.73 Canadian
Because the Canadian dollar is worth less than the American dollar, the number of Canadian dollars you will receive is more than the number of American dollars you put in.
$300 x 1.41243 = $423.73 Canadian
Because the Canadian dollar is worth less than the American dollar, the number of Canadian dollars you will receive is more than the number of American dollars you put in.
Self-check!